Variety reports that Francis Ford Coppola is developing a TV series version of his classic movie THE CONVERSATION for ABC. The pilot will be written by Christopher McQuarrie ("The Usual Suspects") and Erik Jendresen ("Band of Brothers").
Released in 1974, between Coppola’s first two
"Godfather" pics, "The Conversation" is a sparse thriller featuring
Gene Hackman as master of electronic surveillance Harry Caul.McQuarrie
and Jendresen plan to set the TV version in the present day, with Caul
now equally adept at digital spying and traditional audio surveillance.Skein
will feature close-ended stories, with Caul reluctantly taking on cases
in order to help people deserving of assistance. But there’ll also be
an ongoing storyline since, as in the movie, Caul will be a man under
constant observation by various government agencies due to a secret
conversation he’s recorded.
This is not the first time this has been attempted. Back in 1995, Oscar-winning screenwriter Ron Bass wrote a pilot based on THE CONVERSATION for NBC that starred Kyle MacLachlan in the Hackman role.
Hmmm..with those people involved, it’s got the potential to be very cool. I especially like the concept of the watcher being watched.
Of course, it also has the potential to suck mightily. We’ll see.
The Conversation was a great movie. I’m not sure what the long-term potential for a TV show would be, though. Him going around and spying on people? I guess you could work that into a lot of plots.
Oh, boy: The Equalizer with wiretaps!